174. Campus Shooting Incident
After some persuasion, Li Aozi managed to calm Yavanna down and convinced her to find a safe place to hide.
But as he watched her retreating figure, Li Aozi couldn't shake off a lingering concern.
[Her form was already showing signs of distortion earlier, resembling a spider…]
Previously, during his encounter with the [White Knight] of the Abyss Humanitarian Relief Organization, the opponent also exhibited distinct animalistic traits. However, Yavanna's appearance was more spider-like, whereas the [White Knight]'s was shark-like.
The citizens of the Abyss Humanitarian Relief Organization seemed to be this way—humanoid in appearance, combined with certain powerful animal traits, and their abilities tailored to their professions.
This unique societal model seemed to highlight the extraordinary nature of the Abyss Humanitarian Relief Organization.
"Judging from Yavanna's condition, her mental state seems unstable. Unlike other societal citizens, Abyss citizens appear prone to paranoia and madness once disconnected from their societal core."
The [White Knight] displayed this, and so did Yavanna.
"I need to make a trip to the Abyss Hunter Association's Star Abyss branch when I get the chance."
Li Aozi couldn't believe that the Hunters, specialists in slaying societal beings, wouldn't have records on this unique society. Even if they didn't, he could act as a whistleblower and deliver this information to alert them.
For now, his priority was to handle the immediate situation.
Carrying Diaran, he cautiously moved and eventually settled in a second-floor classroom of a teaching building.
He removed the curtains to cover Diaran and used elemental architecture to generate cement, sealing the doors and windows before strategizing his next move.
Li Aozi checked his experience points and clicked his tongue in frustration.
His reserves were limited, largely because players were focused on mainline quests, and he wouldn't earn significant experience until the next update.
"It's only enough to elevate me to the Epsilon tier, completing the initial species ascension… but the gap to Zeta tier is still too vast."
Li Aozi bit his thumb, quickly calculating his options.
Currently, he had one tier advancement ticket that could directly raise his tier, but using it now would only get him to Epsilon tier.
The strict hierarchy of tiers meant that, although he had once ambushed a Zeta-tier Velarchi, relying on Blood Demon Flow to survive, it didn't mean he could harm such opponents. Even at Delta tier, he wasn't confident about facing Zeta-tier Remaining Moon head-on.
Especially since Remaining Moon was an exceptionally troublesome Zeta-tier adversary.
In the Domination path, the abilities of Espers and Echoers varied significantly, with Echoers clearly at a disadvantage.
Espers focused on developing Omega Energy and utilizing implanted weaponry, typically excelling in one or two Omegas, resulting in high individual strength. For Remaining Moon to reach Zeta tier, his proficiency with the "Remaining Moon" Omega undoubtedly surpassed Li Aozi's.
Unlike Velarchi's merchant faction, Remaining Moon was a textbook chaotic evil character who delighted in crime and slaughter. Even though he could have silently infiltrated the school to steal the three fragments of the Truth Eye, he chose instead to launch a terror attack.
While Velarchi adhered to laws and had limits, terrorists like Remaining Moon had no bottom line. Li Aozi wouldn't be surprised by anything he might do.
Moreover, Zeta tier was a transformative stage, granting its individuals extremely high damage mitigation effects.
At Zeta tier and above, individual powerhouses became akin to true war machines. Even percentage-based damage was significantly reduced, making it nearly impossible for lower-tier transcendents to surround and kill them.
Without reaching the same tier, Li Aozi had no confidence in confronting such opponents.
Additionally, he wasn't sure if Remaining Moon had undergone a second specialization.
Espers advanced into the "Magic Warrior" profession, leading to the Conqueror path. If Remaining Moon had specialized, Li Aozi had no intention of engaging him.
Echoers were designed as area-damage mages and information specialists, whereas Magic Warriors were typical frontline spell tanks. In a one-on-one scenario, Li Aozi was undoubtedly outmatched.
"Survival must remain the top priority. I'll see how Old Hobbs and Old Lucite are doing. Ideally, we'll regroup, as surviving together increases the odds of rescue."
Li Aozi activated his communication runes, but with the dimensional barriers set by Remaining Moon, magical networks were blocked entirely, leaving no signal.
Remaining Moon's control over the battlefield through his Omega ability was overpowering. The outside world couldn't be contacted, and all of Trevila was likely sealed off. To make matters worse, the school's leadership was currently off-planet… leaving little chance for external intervention before it was too late.
"No, I can't just sit here and wait to die."
Li Aozi tested his Echo ability and confirmed it wasn't blocked, meaning he could still reach out to the outside world.
The problem was… he didn't personally know any school leaders.
This was a disaster—like having a phone during a fire but not knowing the emergency number to call.
He could broadcast his situation, but that would essentially announce his location to Remaining Moon.
Remaining Moon's goal was to seize the Truth Eye fragments. If Li Aozi openly revealed himself, Remaining Moon would undoubtedly target him.
"Wait, what about the scholarship society members…"
Li Aozi hesitated.
Broadcasting would alert everyone to his status as an implanted body, jeopardizing all his current progress.
The scholarship society task still had seven months left. For the sake of the perpetual specialization, he didn't want to waste this opportunity.
He had no other choice.
Li Aozi deliberated and decided to rely on the players.
He crafted a mission briefing, releasing it to the White Candle Star players addicted to grinding. He tasked them with spreading news of the attack on Trevila far and wide.
He also assigned a group of players to retrieve two legendary weapons, the Dust-Sealed Sanctuary and Tsu•Shadow's Edge, from the Hero of Felicia's tomb and deliver them through the NPC trade panel.
Li Aozi needed to bolster his strength as much as possible. He quickly issued commands to Faithkeep Village, particularly the biochemical base stationed there, ordering the biopool to immediately produce his backup implanted body.
Uncertain of the extent of Remaining Moon's forces, Li Aozi prepared for the worst, ready to shed his current identity and flee if necessary.
After making these arrangements, Li Aozi still felt uneasy. He reached out to the "Hero's Spirit" bar owner, Orlaville, through an Echo message, offering to prepay a commission to hire several Zeta-tier legendary mercenaries.
"Oh, Mr. Leoz, how's it going lately? What made you think of contacting me?"
[Never mind that, Mr. Orlaville. Are there any Zeta-tier mercenaries left at the Valkyrie Fortress?]
"You're looking to hire legendary mercenaries? What a shame. You've come at the wrong time," Orlaville lamented. "The Zeta-tier mercenary teams from Valkyrie Fortress recently accepted a big job and have all disappeared. As you know, no one above Zeta tier takes on mercenary work."
[What a coincidence.]
"Just so happens. There's not even a desk-duty Zeta-tier mercenary at the Mercenary Alliance of Valkyrie Fortress right now."
Li Aozi didn't believe it was a coincidence.
The local Zeta-tier mercenaries were absent, and the nearest neutral force—the Zeta-tiers of Valkyrie Fortress—were also gone.
This clearly indicated that someone was feeding Remaining Moon detailed intelligence and support.
Li Aozi's mind raced as he mobilized every resource he had accumulated so far.
Remaining Moon dared to launch another attack, which meant he had strong backing. Li Aozi hired Orlaville to investigate who was aiding Remaining Moon.
Li Aozi even contacted Mr. Liuer through gravitational waves.
"You brat, what mess have you gotten yourself into now?"
Mr. Liuer scolded harshly:
"Last time, after the Valenko incident, the Empire of Heroes' Pathway Management Association sent people to question me, accusing me of failing to report the Echoer pathway information accurately. Do you know how long it took me to get rid of them?"
[Mr. Liuer, now's not the time for that.]
Li Aozi quickly explained:
[I'm under attack by Remaining Moon. You researched sequence Omega Energy before; do you know how to break the dimensional barriers set by the "Remaining Moon" Omega?]
"Kid, have you married sequence Omega Energy in a past life? Normal people encounter one or two sequence powers in their lifetime, and you've run into how many?"
Li Aozi counted: gravity, calamity, bloodline, and Remaining Moon.
[Uh, I have four within me now.]
"…You little…"
Mr. Liuer, being an implanted body himself, almost lost his breath. After a long silence, he finally sent a reply:
"I've spent 140 years researching Omega Energy at the Life Commune. No matter the species, their acceptance of Omega Energy is about the same. But now I'm baffled—Leoz, what makes you so special that these sequence powers revolve around you?"
[If all else fails, just think of me as Leozi's reincarnation!]
"Nonsense! Where in the Star Abyss do you find reincarnation?"
Mr. Liuer scoffed:
"Six layers of Star Abyss—Layer Abyss, Boundary Abyss, Circumference Abyss, Group Abyss, Nether Abyss, and Origin Abyss. Altogether 13 narrative civilizations, and only Narrative #7, 'Homeland of Souls,' has such a mechanism, and it's in the Boundary Abyss. If you're going to make things up, at least get your facts straight."
[Fine, then just think of me as unique.]
Li Aozi dismissed the matter lightly.
When it came to his identity, he had some speculations. Or perhaps, he had a different perspective on the Star Abyss compared to others.
Maybe he truly did have some connection to "Leoz."
"Unique… heh, maybe," Mr. Liuer sighed. As if recalling something, he sent another message:
"As for breaking the dimensional barriers of Remaining Moon, there's basically no solution. Either eliminate the Omega holder or possess the ability to ascend dimensions—though that assumes you realize you've been two-dimensionalized."
[Old man, you're telling me things I already know. Sure, I could do it alone, but triggering the dimensional barrier would alert Remaining Moon. Even if being two-dimensionalized doesn't kill me, his implanted troops certainly will.]
Mr. Liuer sighed:
"Brat, are you accusing me of being useless? Let me tell you, your situation… I really can't help. Every narrative-level civilization struggles with sequence Omegas. Us gravity users are relatively well-behaved, but other sequence holders are treated no better than hunted witches."
Li Aozi scratched his head.
This was truly troublesome… he would have to survive on his own.